Glynneath’s head coach was in the side that reached the 2011 final at Principality Stadium before going down to a 35-13 defeat to Ammanford. He helped to plan a revenge victory over Ammanford in the last 16 of this season’s tournament and now has two time former champions Penallta in his sights in this weekend’s quarter-finals.
Former hooker Bignell is not the only link back to the Glynneath side that reached the final eight years ago.Craig Tennant, who replaced in the front row, is still there as is tight head prop Gareth Hall, outside half Jack O’Reilly and try-scoring centre Greg Roberts.
Glynneath beat Nantymoel, Felinfoel and Ammanford to earn a home draw in the quarter-finals against a team that knows exactly what it takes to reach the final and take home the silverware. The Pitmen first won the Plate in 2012, were beaten in the 2016 final and then won again in 2017, albeit on a superior try count after their game against Ystalyfera finished 16-16.
One of four teams from Division 1 East who have reached the last eight, Penallta have lost only once this season. That was a 15-7 defeat at Brynmawr, who are the holders and are still in the hunt to retain their title.
The Mawr head to Treorchy still licking their wounds after a 34-19 reverse at table-topping Brecon. That came on top of a 14-10 defeat at Penallta in January, leaving them trailing the top two by eight and 13 points respectively in the chase for the league title they won so impressively last season.
“There are a couple of teams we probably wanted to avoid and Penallta would certainly have been one of them. But it’s a home draw so it could have been worse,” said Bignell.
“We don’t cross each other very often. We had a week off a few weeks ago and some of our supporters went to have a look at them and said they played very similarly to us.
“They like to throw the ball around, try and play rugby and don’t just rely on the set piece. It should be a good encounter.”
Glynneath, who were relegated from the National Championship last season, are still in the hunt for the Division 1 West Central title. They also booked their ticket into the West Wales Cup final with a 22-14 win over Felifoel last week to set up a final showdown with holders Ystalyfera.
“We’ve had a bit of a sticky patch where we lost a couple of league games, but won with a bonus point against Maesteg Celtic a week last Saturday and then produced a great performance midweek against Felinfoel in the cup,” added Bignell.
“We’ve put real focus on our defensive work and that kind of won us the game against Felinfoel. It’s been a few years since we’ve had runs in the cup because, when we were up in the Championship, the cup was a bit of a write off for us – and you couldn’t enter the West Wales Cup.
“We’ve always been a pretty good cup team and do seem to pull it out the bag when it comes to these knockout games.”
Another side from the west hoping to end the eastern dominance of the Plate – Brynmawr won last year, Penallta in 2017, Bedlinog in 2016, Ystrad Rhondda in 2015 and Merthyr in 2014 – will be Bonymaen, who entertain Cambrian Welfare. Their run to the quarter-finals is the club’s best-ever in the competition.
They saw off Aberystwyth and Cilfynydd in rounds two and four respectively, following a first round walkover against Porthcawl and then a bye through the third round. Cambrian, who play in Division 1 East Central, reached the last eight in dramatic fashion after going through at Ynysddu on the away team rule after the match finished a 9-9 try-less draw.
In 2015, Cambrian reached the final of the WRU National Bowl as a then Division 3 club, losing 17-12 to Ystradgynlais on that occasion.
“We’re definitely looking forward to it. The boys have had a bit of a week off to enjoy the weekend and the Six Nations, but they are now fully focused on the cup,” said Bonymaen team manager, Dai Allen.
“We’re hoping for a big crowd and that we can get the community and everyone to come up and rally around the team. It does make a difference.
“We had a big crowd at the game against Ystalyfera the weekend before last. The boys came off the pitch and said they’d never played in front of a crowd like that and it did help them get through at the end.
“Cambrian are no mugs and have been to the stadium before, so they know what’s it all about. For us, the carrot is there and things are really building up nicely.”
Brecon, coached by former Wales and British & Irish Lions back row star Andy Powell, are hoping to emulate their youth team, who have successfully reached the last four of the WRU National Youth Cup. They will face Morriston on 23 March.
The senior side are unbeaten this season in the league and cup, although they were downed by Ystrad Rhondda in the Mid District Cup in December. Their last league defeat was at Nelson on 14 April last year, when they were beaten 40-37.
This season, however, they have already completed the double over the Unicorns, winning 25-0 at home and 25-10 away.
WRU National Plate – Quarter-Finals
Bonymaen v Cambrian Welfare
Glynneath v Penallta
Nelson v Brecon
Treorchy v Brynmawr
